Now, during national Adopt-a-Greyhound month, she’s urging others to open their hearts, and homes, to the beautiful breed.

‘’As a teenager living in Dapto, I often saw greyhounds being walked and thought what an elegant dog they were,’’ she said.

‘’After seeing TV segments on animal welfare, we wanted to get a dog that really needed a loving home and decided to contact Greyhound Rescue.’’

Ms Hurley and daughter Vanessa adopted Sophie from the Sydney charity in 2013, and Rusty two years later. ‘’During our times of settling these dogs into our home we had constant support and friendship with everyone from Greyhound Rescue,’’ she said.